Related papers: Suprathermal electrons at Saturn's bow shock
Over the past decade, $\gamma$-ray observations of supernova remnants (SNRs) and accurate cosmic-ray (CR) spectral measurements have significantly advanced our understanding of particle acceleration in SNRs. In combination with…
Evidence for two different physical mechanisms for acceleration of solar energetic particles (SEPs) arose 50 years ago with radio observations of type III bursts, produced by outward streaming electrons, and type II bursts from coronal and…
The theory of first order Fermi acceleration at shocks assumes that particles diffuse due to scattering off slow-moving magnetic irregularities. However, cosmic rays are closely tied to magnetic field lines, and the transport process,…
We discuss recent observations of high energy cosmic ray positrons and electrons in the context of hadronic interactions in supernova remnants, the suspected accelerators of galactic cosmic rays. Diffusive shock acceleration can harden the…
The cosmic-ray spectrum up to the knee ($E\sim 10^{15}$ eV) is attributed to acceleration processes taking place at the blastwaves which bound supernova remnants. Theoretical predictions give a similar estimate for the maximum energy which…
Relativistic shocks that accompany supernovae (SNe) produce X-ray burst emissions as they break out in the dense circumstellar medium around the progenitors. This phenomenon is sometimes associated with peculiar low-luminosity gamma-ray…
The bow shocks of runaway stars with strong stellar winds of over 2000 km s$^{-1}$ can serve as particle acceleration sites. The conversion from stellar wind luminosity into particle acceleration power has an efficiency of the same order of…
Shock accelerated electrons are found in many astrophysical environments, and the mechanisms by which they are accelerated to high energies are still not completely clear. For relatively high Mach numbers, the shock is supercritical, and…
Massive stars that travel at supersonic speeds can create bow shocks as their stellar winds interact with the surrounding interstellar medium. These bow shocks - prominent sites for mechanical feedback of individual massive stars - are…
The acceleration of suprathermal electrons in the solar wind is mainly associated with shocks driven by interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). It is well known that the acceleration of electrons is much more efficient at…
Young supernova remnants (SNRs) are believed to be the origin of energetic cosmic rays (CRs) below the "knee" of their spectrum at $\sim3$ petaelectronvolt (PeV, $10^{15}$ eV). Nevertheless, the precise location, duration, and operation of…
In the common model supernova shock-acceleration of cosmic rays there are two open questions: 1. where does the high energy cosmic rays below the knee (10$^4-10^6$ Gev) come from, and 2. are cosmic ray accelerated only at their origin or…
On 17 October 2008, the Cassini spacecraft crossed the southern sources of Saturn kilometric radiation (SKR), while flying along high-latitude nightside magnetic field lines. In situ measurements allowed us to characterize for the first…
Cosmic rays and solar energetic particles may be accelerated to relativistic energies by shock waves in astrophysical plasmas. On the Sun, shocks and particle acceleration are often associated with the eruption of magnetized plasmoids,…
Cosmic rays are charged relativistic particles that reach the Earth with extremely high energies, providing striking evidence of the existence of effective accelerators in the Universe. Below an energy around $\sim 10^{17}$ eV cosmic rays…
Context: Observation of Balmer lines from the region around the forward shock of supernova remnants may provide precious information on the shock dynamics and on the efficiency of particle acceleration at the shock. Aims: We calculate the…
These notes present the fundamentals of Fermi acceleration at shocks, with a special attention to the role that supernova remnants have in producing Galactic cosmic rays. Then, the recent discoveries in the theory of diffusive shock…
Cosmic explosions play a critical role in a broad range of astrophysical fields. Although considerable progress has been made to understand the explosive engines and their progenitors, many of the details are not well understood. One of the…
Observations of gamma-ray bursts by the Fermi satellite, capable of detecting photons in a very broad energy band: 8keV to >300GeV, have opened a new window for the study of these enigmatic explosions. It is widely assumed that photons of…
While supernova remnants (SNRs) have long been considered prime candidates for the source of cosmic rays, at least to energies up to ~10^14 eV, it is only over the past several years that direct evidence of such energetic particles in SNRs…